Robert J. Pignatelli, formerly of Newton and Palm Bay, Florida, died on July 13, 2018. He was 92. He was the beloved husband of the late Amelia (DeFilippo) Pignatelli.
Bob was born in Newton, attended Newton public schools, and graduated from Newton High School in 1943. He served in the Navy in World War II on the USS Melville, stationed in Scotland, England and France. After his discharge from the Navy, Bob worked at his father’s Italian grocery store, Timmy’s Market, on Langley Road in Thompsonville. While working at Timmy’s, he also worked for Knapp Shoes and Community Newsdealers. He was also a longtime member and Treasurer of the Gabriel D‘Nunzio Club in Newton.
Despite working seven days a week, Bob found time to attend evening classes in math and electronics at Harvard, MIT and Wentworth. In 1965 he joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 11, and in later years served as Treasurer. After his father’s death in 1967, Bob closed Timmy’s Market to work full-time with the IATSE. He eventually accepted the position of Property Master at the Shubert Theatre in Boston where he worked until his retirement in 1989. During his time with the IATSE, Bob worked at all the major entertainment venues in Boston. He also worked on location while numerous movies, including “The Thomas Crown Affair”, “The Brinks Job” and “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”, were being filmed in and around Boston. He traveled throughout New England with the IATSE, assisting in the filming of news and entertainment pieces for the major television networks.
Bob earned his private pilot’s license in 1982 and was licensed to fly single engine planes, a hobby he became interested in as a young man and enjoyed until his retirement. He also loved to play golf which he was able to do more frequently after he and Amelia moved to Florida in 1994. He was very proud of his hole in one and also of his score of 72 at Ponkapoag Golf Course in Canton.
Bob will be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor, his laughter, especially at his own jokes and stories, his kindness, generosity and devotion to his family. He loved talking to everyone and sharing stories about everything – his life growing up, his family, his adventures in high school and the Navy, and his time working in the theatre, among other things.
Bob was the son of the late Antimo and Corinna (D’Agostino) Pignatelli and was pre-deceased by his brother Mario Pignatelli and his sisters Virginia Ferzacca and Rita Steidinger.
Bob leaves his son Robert Pignatelli, Jr. and his wife Floriana; his daughter Karen Pignatelli and her boyfriend J. Wesley Rawding; his grandchildren Jamie Cashman, Leigh Chiasson, Corinne Schieffer, Cassandra Lombardo and Lisa Neal; and eight great-grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend funeral services from the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 1305 Highland Avenue, Needham, on Tuesday, July 17, at 9:00 a.m. with a funeral mass to be held at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 1317 Centre Street, Newton. Interment to follow at Holyhood Cemetery, Brookline.
Donations in Bob’s memory may be made to Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.